DOOMSDAY DRILLS

The space agency is taking part in five days of mock scenarios along with other international organisations to test their preparedness for an apocalyptic asteroid crash.

Demonstrating how close we could be to such a scenario really occurring, Mr Bridenstine pointed to what's been dubbed the Chelyabinsk Event.

In February 2013, a meteor blazed across the Ural Mountains before smashing into the remote area of southern Russia.

It was the single largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century - after the Tunguska Event of 1908.

More than 1,600 people were injured by the shock wave from the massive explosion - which rippled out for hundreds of miles around.

The power of the impact was estimated to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

NASA explain their proposed Asteroid Redirect Mission

3

A large asteroid strike on a populated area would be catastrophic, NASA's boss has warnedCredit: Getty - Contributor

INCREASING REGULARITY

Such devastating events are normally thought to occur roughly once every 60 years.

But Mr Bridenstine said there have been three in the last 100 years - suggesting their regularity is increasing at a potentially devastating rate.

It means that another event on the scale of the Chelyabinsk Event could occur within our lifetime.

And its impact could be calamitous if it was to occur in a more built-up area like a town or city.

Likewise, should a similar asteroid strike occur in the ocean, the resulting wave could be colossal - wiping out whole islands, and coastal regions.

I wish I could tell you these events are exceptionally unique. But they are not

Jim BridensteinNASA administrator

Mr Bridenstine added: "I wish I could tell you these events are exceptionally unique.

"But they are not."

NASA is treating planetary defence as just a critical objective as space exploration and sending humans to the moon once again.

The agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been tasked with studying near-earth objects (NEOs) to record their behaviour and better predict when an asteroid strike could occur.

NEOs are seen as any objects that orbit the sun and come within 30million miles of Earth’s orbit.

Part of this work is detecting and tracking as many as 90 per cent nearby asteroids that are 459ft or larger.

Asteroids of this size could cause potentially fatal damage upon impact with Earth.

NASA’s Mars InSight Lander captures audio of first likely 'Marsquake'

NASA is also teaming with Elon Musk's SpaceX company to launch the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission.

DART will be the first ever attempt to deflect an asteroid by purposely crashing an object into it at high speed.

The mission is scheduled to launch in June 2021 and will target the near-Earth asteroid Didymos - which measures roughly 2,600ft.

DART is expected to smash into Didymos when it's 6.8 million miles from Earth in October 2022.

Nasa sending humans to 'icy South Pole' of Moon for FIRST time by 2024

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.